MORE: about the artist

Hmmmm. About me. Shit. Where in the hell do I even begin? OK, for starters writing this makes me about as uncomfortable as I was when I first began showing my art online. Facebook mostly. Starting on my non-public personal page. The first time venturing out of my personal page, I joined some fb groups and posted some art there. THAT was really hard for me. Over time it has become easier.

Going intentionally outside of the comfort zone is exactly what is necessary to grow. Over the last several years I’ve grown my creative skills taking on art projects much in the same way. So here I go again, in that weirdly uncomfortable but familiar place. Pushing and knowing that I’ll grow - which, I suppose, makes this right here a virtual expression of my growing pains.

As long as I can remember I have always been creating something. As a child I drew on everything I could find - WITH anything I could find. I drew on paper, cardboard, wood, walls, inside books on the pages, and, much to my parent’s disappointment, once on the parquet floor of my room. I remember drawing on the bathroom mirror with Mom’s lipstick, too. Sorry Mom! Essentially, anything I could make a mark with, I wanted.

From a young age, my intense curiosity always left me wanting to know more. In fact, I drove the adults in my life nuts by constantly asking questions. Especially my Mom. It got to the point where I was asking WHY so much that the answer became, BECAUSE. And then I would ask… BECAUSE WHY?

Enter my matriarchal grandmother, she indulged me in my never ending quest for answers. Much time was spent at the library because of it. At her house, she would often feed my curiosity. For example, she had this big oak tree in her backyard. We would sit and sometimes sleep on the screened-in back porch in good weather. Often breezy by the bay, you could hear the leaves rustling and sometimes you could faintly hear the waves nearby crashing on the beach. One afternoon we were sitting there and she asked, “how do you think that tree feels?” I immediately answered, “happy” to which she replied, “no… I want you to describe to me how it feels when you touch it, without going out and touching it.” Then, she asked me if I could see the spots of light on it, and notice how the light changes the colors in certain areas. Just look at the light.  And then, the darkness. The shadows. Could I see them by themselves? I truly don’t remember a single reply I gave her. I wish I did. What I do remember is on THAT very afternoon over 50 years ago, my grandmother taught me how to see as an artist.

My grandmother Verna was an artist in her own right. She was a fabulous seamstress. I remember lying atop taped together newspapers while she traced around my body to make patterns to sew clothing for me. She drew pencil and pen sketches. She made dolls. She made tiny chairs out of cans. She was also a ceramicist and had a big kiln in a small spare room of her house. I loved it when she would throw a large lump of wet clay onto her enameled metal kitchen table and she and I would make things that would be fired in the kiln. I especially loved watching the firing cones bend in the kiln. 

A few months after I turned 13, my grandmother succumbed to cancer. I still think of her and miss her to this day. While I do wish I had some physical art she and I made together, what she left me with has been incredibly valuable. 

For a short time in the 70’s, my teenage self consigned some freehand pyrography art, mostly castles and wizards, at a stoner fortune teller's shop through friends. BUT, this website is truly the first time I’m putting my art and myself out there publicly. And, I can't stop snickering about it today. WHY? Because there’s something rather hilarious about an emerging artist who is in her 60’s. Imagine that. It’s quite fucking funny. And, yes. She cusses, too. Quite often. Surprisingly, she also knows how to behave in public. Most of the time.

UPDATED see ABOUT THE WORK
regarding my public exhibitions

I don’t have an art degree. I spent two years in vocational school learning Graphic Art. After graduation, I worked in the printing industry running production and maintaining offset presses. A few years later, I accepted a municipal government position running the graphic department. There, I worked on a wide array of projects (as well as print production) from aerial photo interpretation for land use planning for the State to water quality sampling for the EPA; website development, publication design, logo design, drafting maps, and more.

After my wife and I got together in 2004, we became entrepreneurs. We formed a Corporation selling Men’s Vintage Clothing, specializing in unworn 1970’s fashion. Thanks to the Internet Archive, you can see the original e-commerce website I built here. There are a few glitches with the way the Wayback Machine site renders but, you'll get a general idea. We prefer that original site over the one we have now, but it is what it is. It had to be changed because the original HTML site wasn’t mobile responsive. Once people began using devices like phones to shop and surf the web over tablets and desktops, sites had to render differently depending on what device they were on. You can see the current site here: DressThatMan.com We have supplied clothing to film, print, and theater productions as well as celebrities, musicians, and regular guys around the world. It’s been a real trip.

After sharing my art on my personal Facebook page over the last few years, I've had friends, family, and strangers encouraging me to put my art out there. While I honestly prefer working behind the scenes, here I am throwing myself into the fray…​

- Shelly

The only remaining picture I have of myself with my Grandma. I still miss her.

My wife and I on a weekend getaway with Mr. Doogie Bowser! I'm the blonde on the right...

Check out those cat ears on the dog! :)